Data Breaches Top Concern

Data breaches are more concerning than product recalls and lawsuits.

A majority of business leaders acknowledge the significant potential damage data breaches can cause to a corporate reputation. They ranked a data breach second only to poor customer service and ahead of product recalls, environmental incidents and publicized lawsuits.

This has resulted in increased awareness from senior leadership, with 39 percent of executives indicating their boards, chairmen and CEOs are involved at a high level in data breach preparedness. This is up from 29 percent in 2014. Businesses need to continue down this path by ensuring the security discussion starts at the board level.

Amidst today's threat landscape, it is a positive sign that businesses have acknowledged data breaches as a corporate issue they must prepare for. Research shows business leaders are now more aware of the detrimental impact a data breach has on brand reputation. However – after reviewing three years of survey data on how executives are preparing for a data breach – it is surprising to report that many are still struggling to feel confident in their ability to manage a breach and execute a response plan.

According to Experian Data Breach Resolution's Third Annual Study: Is Your Company Ready for a Big Data Breach?, 81 percent of companies now have a baseline data breach response plan in place, but only 34 percent of executives view those plans as effective. This can be largely attributed to significant holes in the response plans in terms of the types of data breaches they should prepare for.

Based on the survey of 604 executives and staff employees who work in privacy and compliance fields in the U.S., the following slideshow examines the current state of data breach preparedness in corporate America and steps security decision-makers can take to improve their incident response plans.

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